Infant&#39;s bib



March 3, 1953 E. N. HUDSON 2,629,870

INFANTS BIB' Filed Dec. 16, 1.950

3liventor "ESTHER N. HUDSON v Gttomeg Patented Mar. 3, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE" INFANTS BIB Esther N. Hudson, Wichita, Application December 16, 1950,seriarnorzonzen' (Glaz -49) Claims.

This inventionrelates to bibs adapted for wear by infants to accomplish the usual purpose of protecting clothing and bedding against soilage by food wastes and oral emissions, and has as an object'to provide an improved bib of high protective efliciency in any of the various usual po- 'sitions of the wearer.

Aiurther object of the invention is to provide an improved infants bib that is simple, economical, and practical or manufacture.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved infants bib that is convenient of attachment in position of wear to and of removal from the wearer.

A further object of the invention is to provide an'improved infantsbib that is size-conformable to the wearer in a secure attached adjustment productive of no wearer discomfort.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved infants bib that cleanses simply and readily and that is susceptible of production from liquid-impervious sheet material.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, ar-

' rangement, and combination of elements as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a typical embodiment ofthe invention as constructed and arr'angedready for practical use. Figure 2 is a plan view of the sheet material blank from which the body of the improved bib is' constituted. Figure3isaview of thebib according to Figure 1 as positioned for use on a body-erect wearer. Figured is a view'of the bib according to Figure l as positioned for use on a recumbent wearer.

In the construction or" the improvement as shown, a blank iii of appropriate, flexible, sheet and character is within the contemplation of the invention, it is manifestly to be preferred that the blank be formed from liquid-impervious sheet material slightly resistant to fiexure, such as glazed or coated fabrics, rubber or rubberized sheets, and synthetic resin, or so-called plastic sheets. material utilized for the purpose, the blank I0 is Whatever may be the particular sheet cut to the'modifiedcardioidal form of Figure 2 and toia'size'exceeding that desired for the finished bib, the outline of the'blank in being characterized by a substantially semi-circular zone H, a pair'of like, opposed lobes I2 arcuately merging with and convexly overlapping beyond the projection of the zone H circular arc, and a symmetrical indentation marking the inward mergence of the lobe l2 adjacent marginal arcs. Approximately concentric with the zone ll marginal arc, a central, circular opening [3 is formed in the blank [9 in a size slightly lessthan the smallest neck size with which the bib is intended to be used, and the indentation marking the mergence of the lobe I2 adjacent arcs is continued as a cut l4 radially of the blank extending to the opening l3 whereit smoothly and arouately merges with the outline of the latter. The blank ii! is thus divided on the side remote from the'zone' ll to permit separation of the lobes I2 and draping of the blank on and about the neck of an infant received in the opening [3.

With the blank HJ prepared in the'form and proportions shown and hereinabove described, the entire free marginal outline of the blank, including the periphery of the opening l3 and the edges se arated by the cut 'l4',is uniformly contracted and shortened by a moderate interfolding or gathering of t e material'therealong anda tape or binding I5 is secured to and preferably as a finish edge over the so-contracted blank margin to permanently retain said margin in its shortened condition and to induce said margin to uostand from and to overlap somewhat relative to'inwardly-adjacent areas of the blank. H1 in a disposition characterized by a depressed, or dished, relationship of the. blank. I 0 main area to the blank free margin. As is readily apparent, the tape or binding l 5 may be of flexible stripmaterialthe same asor different from that of the blank I!) and may be secured to the gathered or interfolded blank free margin in any appropriate manner, as by means ofstitching, or otherwise, as thenature of the materials employed may permit. Likewise obvious is the fact that shortening of the blank free margin'by gathering or interfolding thereof serves-to somewhat enlarge the effective area of the neck opening [3. andto reduce the effective area of'the blank I, and that the degree of such gathering or interfolding of the blank free margin will not only determine the ultimate efiective bib size but will also determine the extent to which the blank l0 major area is dished or pouched relative to the free edge margin.

Completing the improved bib ready for practical use, complementary ties l6 are end-stitched or secured to points of the opening l3 margin similarly spaced from and adjacent the intersection of the out [4 therewith, such points of tie attachment being indicated by the marks I! of Figure 2, and complementary ties l8 are similarly end-stitched or secured to points of the lobe l2 convex margins similarly spaced relative to the cut II and adjacent the lobe crowns, as indicated by the marks IQ of Figure 2. The ties I6 are employed in a usual and obvious manner to snug the opening l3 about the neck of a wearer and are tied at the nape of the wearer's neck to dispose the circular arc zone ll of the bib below the chin and over the upper chest of the wearer in position, by virtue of its pouched conforma tion, to entrap food wastes and oral emissions impinging upon said zone in both erect and and recumbent wearer positions. while the ties l8 are employed to join points of the bib margin behind the wearers head and to consequently overlap adjacent sides of the lobes [2 in a manner to pouch the bib body entirely about and around the opening l3. thus completing a flexible basin disposed to collect and retain wastes and emissions in virtually every pos tion the wearer may attain. The ties l8, when interengaged, function to further shorten the bib free margin and to correspondingly deepen the bib body pouch, the degree of lobe l2 overlap and the depth of bib body pouch being susceptible of same adjustment within the range ot the tie l8 lengths. Use of the ties l6 and 18' facilitates adaptation of a given bib size to-use on infants of varying size and age and obviates all occasion for the presence of hazardous, or otherwise undesirable, metallic fastenings.

Since changes, variations, and modifications in the form, construction, and arrangement of the elements shown and described may be had without departing from the spirit of my invention, I wish to be understood as being limited solely by the scope of the appended claims, rather than by any details of the illustrative showing and foregoing descriptions.

I claim as my invention:

1. A bib of the character described comprising a centrally-apertured flexible sheet body of modifled cardioidal outline characterized by juxtaposed marginal lobes separable on a line radially I of said body and intersecting the central aperture thereof, the free edge margin of said sheet being uniformly gathered, an edge binding of less length than the ungathered sheet body free margin secured to and closing entirely about theunilength than the ungathered sheet body free margin secured to, to hold in uniformly gathered condition, and to close entirely about the margins of said lobes, line of lobe separation, central aperture, and sheetbody area to pouch the latter, and ties selectively and adjustably inter-engageable to unite spacedly-adjacent points on said free edge margin at each end of the line of lobe separation.

3. The organization according to claim 2, wherein said ties are constituted as a pair of complementary ties individually end-secured to points of the central aperture free edge margin on opposite sides of the line of lobe separation and a second pair of complementary ties individually end-secured to a point or the lobe free edge margin adjacent the crown apex of each lobe.

4. In a bib of the character described, a flexible sheet body of modified cardioidal outline formed with a central aperture and characterized by like, juxtaposed, marginal lobes separable on a line radially of the body and intersecting said aperture, the free edge margin of said sheet being uniformly gathered, an uninterrupted edge binding of less length than the ungathered sheet body free margin secured to, to hold in uniformly gathered condition, and to close entirely about the margins of said lobes, line of lobe separation, central aperture, and sheet body area to pouch the latter, complementary ties end-secured to points of said aperture free edge margin on opposite sides of the line of lobe separation, and complementary ties end-secured to points of the lobe free edge margins adjacent the lobe crown apices.

5. In a bib of the character described having a flexible sheet body of modified cardioidal outline formed with a central aperture and characterized by like, juxtaposed, marginal lobes separable on a line radially of the body and intersecting said aperture, a uniformly-gathered free edge margin along and about said lobes, line of lobe separation, central aperture, and sheet body area, an uninterrupted edge binding of less length than the ungathered free edge margin permanently secured to, to close entirely about, and to hold said free edge margin in uniformly gathered condition, whereby to pouch the sheet body area, and means for selectively and adjustably interengaging points of the central aperture edge binding on opposite sides of the line of lobe separation and points of the lobe crown edge binding on opposite sides of said line.

ESTHER N. HUDSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,457,725 Rhowmine Dec. 28, 1948 2,479,154 Cantor Aug. 16, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 566,241 Germany Dec. 13, 1932 

